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'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎166r] (336/386)

The record is made up of 1 volume (189 folios). It was created in 1907. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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73
In December 1899, a despatch* was received from the Secretary of State in
. K„ 17 (Secret), dated the sith November if 99. fZ 1 "' 0 '' certain suggestions n ere mode as to
the steps which might be taken to neutral
ise the effect of the grant of the French flag. The suggestions were :—
(1) That the Sultan should make an ordinance compellimr every subject
of Maskat who owns a ship to register it as a Maskat ship, and
sail it under the Maskat flag.
(2) That the Sultan should declare that he would not in his territory,
after a date to be fixed, recognise any protection or naturalisation
thereafter conferred on his subjects otherwise than with his
sanction or under the provisions of his treaties.
(3) That the use of the British flag should be extended so as to outbid
the French Consul.
At the same time it was requested that, with a view to the possibility of
coming to an arrangement with the French Government, a more precise
account should be furnished of the modus operandi of the French, and of the
evidence forthcoming to prove a connivance on their part in the slave trade, or
the exact details in respect of which they could be held to fail in their obli
gations under the Brussels Act, Articles 25 and 30.
The despatch was sent to the Resident at Bushire for report.
In the interval before the report was furnished,+ the situation was further
t it w«s eventually transmitted to the Secrrt.r, developed by the Sultan’s offering to sign
a letter definitely requesting the British
Government to intervene with the French
Government on his behalf in order to
“effect the removal of the flags now* in
use and the discontinuance of the practice”
of granting the French flag to his subjects.
This request, as Captain Cox pointed out, seemed to supply the locus sfatidi
required by Lord Salisbury in the Foreign Office letter of December 20th, 18 ( J8,
and Her Majesty’s Government were,
wt T , c 'm r *” toS< ' cre, “ ryofStatc ’ d ‘ t ' a tl,<! 22 ° d therefore, ashed} whether they were
prepared to act.
While this reference was being considered in London, the Sultan took
matters into his own hands and visited the French protdges at Sur. His visit
resulted in the presentation to him of a solemn declaration by the two tribes at
Sur, including all the holders of the French flag, in which they declared their
wish and intention to return all French papers and flags and return to their
allegiance to the Sultan Three of the flag-holders who had received their
papers from the French Consul actually handed them over to the Sultan for
return to M. Ottavi. The Sultan thereupon issued an edict to the effect that
he would not recognise in his territories (in the hands of his subjects) French
flags and papers, and would “ not forgive ” any one who took them without
his permission and in accordance with the terms of his treaties. This edict,
it was pointed out, w as in accordance with the suggestion made in the Secret
despatch from the Secretary of State, No. 47, dated the 24th November 1899,
and w T asalso a tardy compliance with the orders contained in the ultimatum of
January 1899, which were based on instructions from the Foreign Office.
Her Majesty’s Government did not, however, see their way to supporting
the Sultan in the position which he had assumed, and in a telegram, dated the
20th July 1900, they directed that the “ Sultan should be advised to make it
clear that the edict affected only the issue of flags and papers to. his subjects
after the date of its comniutiication to the French Consul ; while in regard to
those issued before that dale, any doubtful or disputed case would be the subject
of examination between himself and the French Government •
M. Cambon having intimated that in future no papers of protection would
be given, and that the existing papers should be carefully examined, so as to
exclude those for the grant ol which no just cause existed, a Irench man-of-war
of State with Secret despatch No. 302 (External),
dated the 26th July 1S00. It cot.tair.ed a lull
account of the r^odus operandi of the French,
giving ample evidence to show that the French
flag-holdera had encaged in the slave trade with
the conuivance of M. Ottavi, and that the provi
sions of Articles 25 to 30 of the Brussels Act bad
been systematically disregarded.

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Content

Printed at the GC [Government Central] Press, Simla.

The volume is divided into three parts: Part I (folios 5-47) containing an introduction; Part II (folios 48-125) containing a detailed account; and Part III (folios 126-188) containing despatches and correspondence connected with Part I Chapter IV ('The Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ', folios 28-47).

Part I gives an overview of policy and events in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region during Curzon's period as Viceroy [1899-1905], with sections on British policy in Persia; the maintenance and extension of British interests; Seistan [Sīstān]; and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Part II contains more detailed accounts of selected topics, including sections on British policy in Persia, customs and finance, quarantine, administration, communications, and British and Russian activity in Seistan. The despatches and correspondence in Part III include correspondence from the Government of India in the Foreign Department, the Secretary of State for India, and the Viceroy; addresses and speeches by Curzon; and notes of interviews between Curzon and local rulers.

Mss Eur F111/531-534 consist of four identical printed and bound volumes. However, the four volumes each show a small number of different manuscript annotations and corrections.

This volume contains manuscript additions on folios 8, 11-12, 14, 42 (a sixteen word note concerning the use by the Shaikh of Koweit [Kuwait] of a distinctive colour [flag] for Kuwait shipping), and 62-66.

Extent and format
1 volume (189 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a list of Parts I-III on folio 4; a table of contents of Part I on folio 6; a table of contents of Part II on folio 49; and a table of contents of Part III on folios 127-129, which gives a reference to the paragraph of Part I Chapter IV that the despatch or correspondence is intended to illustrate.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 191; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎166r] (336/386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/534, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070118030.0x000089> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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